Mitel’s Tom Dunn wins FCS Apprentice of the Year award

Published on 18/07/2012

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Mitel has announced that 18 year old Tom Dunn has been awarded Apprentice of the Year by the Federation of Communication Services (FCS). Tom, who joined Mitel’s Technical Apprenticeship Programme in September 2010, impressed the assessors with his enthusiasm, communication skills and clear aptitude towards working with customers. The other candidates shortlisted for the award were part of BT’s apprentice scheme.

Tom from Shirenewton, Monmouthshire, joined the Mitel Apprenticeship Programme shortly after completing his GCSEs and is currently in his final year of the two year programme, which was established by Mitel in 2007 to help remedy the shortage of skilled telecommunications engineers in the UK. The programme provides young people with the skills and training required to become telecommunications engineers, under the leadership of Mitel’s experienced staff.

Jacqui Brookes, CEO, FCS, said, “Each of the awards was judged by a panel of industry players and representatives from the regulator or academia. We are particularly pleased to offer for the first time the new award of FCS Apprentice of the Year to applaud the contribution that young people are making to the communications industry.”

Since its inception, Mitel’s Apprenticeship Programme has delivered ten graduates, all of whom have been successfully placed in various technical support jobs within Mitel. The programme allows young people to receive on the job training, complete NVQ Level 3 IT Professional and take advantage of technology courses delivered either online or via classroom training by Mitel’s Technical Trainers, all under the supervision and guidance of a specially selected Mitel mentor.

Tim Gwatkin, HR manager, Mitel, commented, “The technology industry is ever changing and new skills are constantly required. The Mitel apprentice scheme produces our future engineers and we really focus on the quality of both the programme and the training that is delivered. With the shortage of skilled engineers in the marketplace, it was difficult for us to recruit the right people, particularly as Mitel skills were seen as a premium; we realised that the best way to develop these skills was from within Mitel itself.

“We’re proud of Tom’s achievement and it is a great credit to the whole Mitel team involved in delivering the apprenticeship scheme.”